The Irish Data Protection Commission has imposed fine of 225 million euros to WhatsApp for violating European rules for the protection of privacy. The sanction on Facebook, which has its European headquarters in Ireland, was the result of an investigation launched in 2018.
According to the committee, WhatsApp allegedly failed to comply with the GDPR’s “transparency obligations”, which relate to adequate communication to the user about the use of his data. The messaging app was given three months to adapt its structure to European regulations.
Facebook has already announced its intention to challenge the sanctions.
We disagree with today’s decision on transparency that we provided to people in 2018 and the fines are completely disproportionate. We are appealing this decision. Our platform is committed to providing a secure and personalized service. We have done our best to ensure that the information is secure and complete and will continue to do so.
The fine represents 0.8% of Facebook’s annual revenue in 2020, and comes second after Amazon’s $750 million fine again this year. We’ll see if the European Court appeals the penalty or if WhatsApp is forced to pay the fine in full.